It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Joan opened the lunchbox and placed it in front of Lavoisier: "Oh, teacher, just pretend that heartless guy ran off to play. Anyway, he often doesn't see you for days at a time. This time it's just been a little longer. He's so thick-skinned, what could possibly happen to him?"

"Don't worry, don't worry, wash your hands and eat first."

"......All right."

Lavoisier, who was indeed hungry, was temporarily persuaded. She looked at the lunchbox in front of her, where the meat and vegetables inside emitted a rich aroma.

To be honest, she initially took Joan in as her assistant hoping to improve her cooking skills, but she didn't learn much cooking skills, though she did eat a lot.

After a moment of reflection, Lavoisier picked up his spoon and quickly finished his food.

Joan watched her teacher finish her lunch and smile contentedly, then suddenly produced a letter from her hand.

"Who sent it?" Lavoisier asked, puzzled.

"do not know."

Joan shrugged: "It says it's for your teacher, and the sender is some stranger named Holmes."

------

hostel.

The first thing Li Cheng did upon returning to his room was to take off his servant's clothes, change back into his original clothes, and knock on Susie's door to check if she had studied on time and completed her homework.

Knock knock knock—

Li Cheng knocked on the door and called out, "Open the door, I'm here to check your review progress."

After waiting for about a minute, there was still no sound from inside. So Li Cheng continued to knock: "Open the door, I've brought back some snacks."

After a moment, there was still no response from inside the room, as if no one was inside.

"That's strange, could he really have gone out?"

Li Cheng scratched his head, gave up knocking on the door, and went back to his room.

But Susie wasn't there, so he couldn't kill time by attending class and had nothing else to do. He picked up the newspaper on the table and read it again: "In order to promote the development of science and technology, following a joint proposal from several members of the Royal Society, the Patent Office has launched a major crackdown on illegal commercial activities in London that fail to pay patent fees, and it has been a great success. I really didn't expect such a good thing to happen. Those people from the Royal Society are finally of some use."

“Bishop Antonse has begun preparations for his coronation.”

"The situation at the front deteriorated rapidly; the HMS Prince of Wales was sunk."

After quickly finishing reading the few thin newspapers, Li Cheng went back to bed and lay there for a while, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"It's so boring."

"I was supposed to be supervising Susie's studies to pass the time, but she ended up going out by herself."

"No, I need to find something to do."

Li Cheng, unable to bear it any longer, was about to leave when he heard a commotion outside. It seemed that several burly men were shouting in the corridor, and the noise was quite close.

"Open the door."

"Stop pretending you're not in the room, we know you're in there."

"If you don't open the door, don't blame us for being impolite."

Holy crap?

Li Cheng was so shocked that he almost jumped out of bed, but then he realized something was wrong. Even if Edward had arrested him, he wouldn't have called the military police, would he?

He slowly moved to the doorway, opened it a crack, and looked out with a mix of nervousness and curiosity—but Li Cheng soon stopped worrying, because almost all the doors in the nearby rooms were open, and people were peeking out to see what was going on.

This even included Susie's room, but after making eye contact with Li Cheng for two seconds, the girl was so frightened that she quickly pulled her head back into the room and slammed the door shut.

As expected, he had been pretending not to be in his room... Li Cheng's lips twitched, and he immediately stopped watching the commotion outside and knocked on the door like those burly men.

"Open the door quickly."

"Stop pretending you're not in the room, I know you're in there."

"Don't blame me for being impolite if you don't open the door."

Knowing she couldn't keep up the act any longer, Susie opened the door a moment later, standing behind it somewhat awkwardly: "You're back. When did you arrive...?"

"Just arrived." Li Cheng said with a forced smile. "Did you review what I taught yesterday? Did you do the exercises I assigned? How are you going to find a job if you don't study hard? If you don't find a good job, you'll only be able to go back to the countryside..."

"Ah ah ah."

Susie clutched her head in anguish, like Sun Wukong hearing the tightening spell.

"Stop yelling. There are people watching outside. It's embarrassing."

Li Cheng pressed Susie back inside, saying, "Go inside and study."

Susie shook her head frantically with all her might: "I really can't do it, I'm really not good at chemistry, you should choose something else, I can do anything else."

"Anything is fine?"

Li Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go with math."

At the same time, with the shouts of several burly men outside the door, the guest in that room seemed to have finally run out of steam.

With a creak, the door slowly opened, and a pale-faced blond man stepped out.

"Don't bother me anymore!" the blond man said angrily. "I told you I won't agree to this!"

Hearing this, the burly men exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with confusion. Then, realizing what they had said, they snarled, "You borrowed so much money from my young lady and you're still so arrogant? When are you going to pay it back? If you don't, do you believe we'll kidnap you and take you back?"

"Aaaaaah!" the blond man cried, clutching his head. "Don't mention that person!"

Although for completely different reasons, the shouts surprisingly overlapped.

Chapter 158 Returning to My Hometown to Farm

Li Cheng forced Susie back into the house with her head down, and she struggled throughout the process.

"I don't want to study, I don't want to read!"

After making sure the door was closed, Li Cheng asked, somewhat puzzled, "Is it that scary? You've only been studying for a few days and you're already unable to cope. I've been studying for over ten years and I've never resisted as fiercely as you."

"More than ten years?!"

Susie exclaimed in shock, "How is that possible? You'd go crazy reading like that for over ten years! I can't even stand looking at that nonsense."

Li Cheng counted on his fingers for her: "Six years of primary school, three years of junior high, three years of senior high, and four years of university, that's at least 16 years, and that doesn't even include when you're younger. And that's considered a small amount. Some people need another three years to get a master's degree, and at least three years for a doctorate, and then another three years after that. You do the math and see how many years that is?"

Susie listened attentively, then looked at Li Cheng with sympathy: "So becoming a wizard is such a difficult thing..."

Li Cheng was too lazy to correct her anymore, and simply asked, "Are you really that averse to studying? You don't like math or chemistry either?"

Susie shook her head firmly: "It's too difficult, too difficult. I don't think I can do it. Why don't you let me go?"

Li Cheng lowered his head and considered for a while.

Actually, letting Susie go to school was something Li Cheng came up with on a whim. He felt that he had caused Susie's worldview to be reshaped and that he had brought her from the countryside to the city, so he had to take responsibility and find a way out for her.

Working as a maid was clearly not a career path for Li Cheng, so he thought he could let Susie study some books and try to find a job as a bookkeeper in his factory or as a laboratory worker in the future.

Besides, he had nothing to do the other day anyway, so he made Susie read books to pass the time.

But since Susie really dislikes reading, there's nothing we can do; it all comes down to her own wishes.

Having figured it out, Li Cheng raised his head: "Okay, then I don't need to study anymore."

Susie didn't react for a moment after hearing this, and after a long pause, she said, "Ah, that's it?"

She hadn't expected to convince Li Cheng so easily; she thought she would be forced to study again, just like the previous two days, and then be forcibly drowned in the ocean of knowledge.

Li Cheng sighed: "Otherwise, what's the point of forcing you to study?"

I saw you seemed quite happy when you were scolding me the other day... Susie held back from saying that.

She thought for a moment and asked cautiously, "If I don't study, does that mean I can only do odd jobs?"

Although Li Cheng had considered other arrangements, he felt that he couldn't let the girl get too carried away, so he said, "Yes, but don't worry about not finding a suitable job. My family can easily take on another maid, but the pay... definitely won't be high."

"..."

Susie lowered her head and thought for a long time before looking at Li Cheng, her face slightly flushed, and said, "Will you marry me?"

???

Li Cheng looked completely bewildered: "Huh? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding! I'm serious!"

Susie said, trying to straighten her chest. She was wearing a very form-fitting cotton dress that accentuated her figure, but her age gave her a different kind of fullness than that of an adult woman, making her exude a youthful vitality.

Before meeting Li Cheng, Susie lived an ordinary life in the countryside. She was born and grew up in an ordinary way. She estimated that she would get married in two years and live an ordinary life.

But Li Cheng's sudden appearance shattered Susie's peaceful life. This man was like a wizard in a story, suddenly coming back to life in front of her, causing Susie's worldview to be rebuilt. As the rebuilder, Li Cheng naturally left a deep imprint on her heart, and it can be said that she has become like Li Cheng.

Moreover, Li Cheng later brought her to London, where she saw scenery unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Just like in the story, someone who has never eaten fish naturally craves it because they can't have it, but once they've tasted it, it's hard to go back. Now, Susie has absolutely no desire to return to the countryside to farm and raise sheep.

Li Cheng ignored Susie's actions and rolled his eyes: "How can I not take this as a joke? First of all, your intentions are obviously impure, and secondly, we've only known each other for a few days. This is too frivolous."

“How is this childish?” Susie stamped her foot. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time these past few days, and I think you’re perfect for me.”

Li Cheng pointed to himself: "But I don't think I'm right for you. Besides, I have a boyfriend, you know? You don't think I'm still single, do you?"

Susie was immediately stunned. Her eyes widened: "Huh? You're not single?"

Li Cheng nodded directly: "Yes, I have a girlfriend."

Susie circled herself, feeling that her judgment might have been a little hasty—but this was also because of the combined effects of the worry about unemployment and the dizziness from intense studying over the past two days, which caused Susie to blurt out her true thoughts in a moment of impulse. Otherwise, according to the normal procedure, she would have said this at least in the middle of the plot.

"Okay, now that you know, stop overthinking."

Seeing this, Li Cheng ignored the bewildered Susie and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I have some things to do in the next two days."

"Based on the intelligence I've gathered over this period, Veronica is probably not up to the task. I need to prepare to proceed with the original plan. We'll split up and contact some people separately."

Susie was still in a daze, and after listening, she just gave a weak "oh".

------

After learning the information at the tea party, Veronica began to work non-stop.

What exactly happened when he was 14 years old...?

With this question in mind, Veronica spent the next few days gathering information through various channels, trying to find out what had happened that year, and also contacting some nobles.

Li Cheng wasn't idle either; he had already made some preparations and contacted some people during this time.

Finally, on the morning of the 30th, Veronica met Li Cheng again at the Shakespeare Theatre.